OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) -The Baltimore Ravens’ defensive backs have a little of their swagger back after shutting down the Cleveland Browns.
The Ravens’ secondary blanketed Browns receivers in a 34-3 win on Sunday.
They didn’t look anything like the group that the San Diego Chargers and quarterback Philip Rivers lit up for 436 yards the week before.
The defense had four interceptions against the Browns, including one each by cornerback Domonique Foxworth and safeties Dawan Landry and Ed Reed.
“We played our type of football,” said Landry, who intercepted a deep Derek Anderson pass over the middle in the fourth quarter. “Last week wasn’t our best game, so we wanted to redeem ourselves.”
Browns coach Eric Mangini benched Brady Quinn at halftime after he threw one interception. He had just 34 passing yards in the first half.
Then, Anderson threw three more interceptions in the second half as he managed only 92 passing yards and a 30.9 quarterback rating
ing.
“With the butt-whipping we took last week, this feels great,” cornerback Fabian Washington said. “This is how we’re supposed to play.”
Foxworth got the Ravens off to a good start by jumping a Quinn pass intended for Braylon Edwards in the first quarter to set up the first of Willis McGahee’s two touchdown runs.
“Last week was frustrating for me because you always have to prove yourself,” Foxworth said after picking off the fifth pass of his career. “It felt good to be able to come back and bounce back and show what kind of group we can be, and as an individual, show what kind of player I can be.”
Foxworth wasn’t entirely satisfied. He dropped a potential interception that could have gone for a touchdown.
“I have to be honest, I feel less nauseous this week than I did last week,” Foxworth said. “I’m still a little uncomfortable. I feel a lot better than last week, but there’s still a little bit of stink on my back. I have to wash it off.”
Reed intercepted a telegraphed Anderson pass. Last week, he bit on some play-action fakes and was out of position to provide assistance on several deep passes. This time, the communication was much better and the Ravens were more disciplined in carrying out their assignments.
“It was huge to come back from the San Diego game and make some plays this week to get the monkey off our back,” Reed said. “It was just guys being where they were supposed to be and sticking with the game plan.”
Overall, the Ravens limited the Browns to 186 yards of total offense, including 115 net passing yards.
This week the task becomes more difficult as they’ll take on the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady.
“I thought our guys did a really nice job of maintaining their level of play in the face of some criticism,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “They came under scrutiny a little bit because of the statistics and maybe they felt like they had something to prove. They’re going to have something to prove next week, too.”
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